Washington State Likely Rejects a Historic Carbon Tax

Locals observe the flooded waters of the Stillaguamish River in Standwood, Washington, on November 18, 2015.David Ryder / Reuters

If Democrats ever want to fight climate change at the national level, they’ll need help from state-level progressives first. Blue states will need to function as “laboratories of democracy,” trying out creative new climate policies and finding their faults before their debut on the national stage.

On Tuesday, Democrats didn’t get that help.

Though progressives cruised to victory in Washington State—Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, easily won reelection—by late Tuesday night, voters appeared almost certain to reject Initiative 1631, a ballot question that would have established the nation’s first carbon tax. With 64 percent of the vote counted, 56 percent of voters opposed the measure—enough of a rout that The Seattle Timesdeclared it defeated. The Associated Press has yet to call the race.

But Initiative 1631 was supported by the state’s governor, Jay Inslee, and most of its environmental groups. “I’m going to do everything I can for it,” Inslee told me in August, calling the proposal a “very well-balanced, thoughtful policy.”

Supporters of 1631 had hoped that President Donald Trump’s climate rollbacks would finally spur counteraction from residents of the Evergreen State.

“Donald Trump is a very inspirational, unifying figure. He’s unified the Democratic Party like never before,” Inslee told me in August. “When you know you’re on your own, when you know you’re not going to have salvation from the White House, it focuses your attention that we need to take action.”

Voters appear to disagree with the governor. Nick Abraham, an organizer for the “Yes on 1631” campaign, told me Tuesday night that there were still too many votes waiting to be counted for the campaign to concede. “The main takeaway from the night is that people know this problem is only going to get worse, and that this coalition’s not going anywhere,” he told me.